Power to the people finally, after substation fixed
After battling with constant power outages for about two years, residents in Unathi Mkefa, OR Tambo and Zone D in Ezibeleni finally received relief after Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM) technicians repaired the substation’s transformer in the township on Friday.
The situation faced by residents was made worse by Eskom load-shedding.
The transformer needed repairing after it was vandalised about two years ago.
To try and prevent vandalism, EMLM has made efforts to secure the substation by installing a perimeter fence and appointing a security company to guard the facility. It is one of the substations supplying electricity to the Ezibeleni areas.
Mayor Thembeka Bunu said restoring the transformer had taken longer than expected due to supply chain process delays to secure funding.
She said the situation had also contributed to water services being hampered as pump stations could not operate without electricity.
The prolonged situation caused frustration and anger among affected residents.
However, Bunu said: “I believe residents are pleased, along with their councillors who were pleading with them to be patient with the process of its restoration.
“We also plan to address the overloading problem in Ezibeleni which is affecting all of its areas by weighing the power system down.”
Meanwhile, technical services portfolio head Mhlangabezi Mangcotywa said the transformer would mainly supply power in Unathi Mkefa and also in parts of Ezibeleni, with Queendustria included.
Mangcotywa said a battery tripping unit had also been installed to protect the transformer from incurring damage.
“We would like to thank the community for bearing with us. At times their patience was waning,” Mangcotywa said.
“We wanted to ensure that things were done accordingly.
“We call on the community members to guard and protect the power supply facilities.
“Let us have a common objective of fighting against the vandalism of government resources such as transformers which are bringing help to the community.”
Mangcotywa also urged residents to join forces with the municipality to discourage illegal connections in Ezibeleni.
He said if illegal connections continued, it would negate the impact of the restored transformer.